BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast · Audacy

Joe Interviews Tech Foundry CEO Tricia Canavan

·21 min·1 clip

Graduates can qualify for Tier 1 and Tier 2 help desk jobs, field technician roles, and digital imaging work.

1. BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast focuses on Joe Bednar’s interview with TechFoundry CEO Tricia Canavan. 2. Joe Bednar is the editor of BusinessWest, and Tricia Canavan leads TechFoundry, a workforce-training nonprofit in Western Mass. 3. The episode asks how TechFoundry trains people for tech jobs while expanding access to digital skills in the region. 4. Canavan says TechFoundry was created in 2014 by area employers who wanted a larger tech workforce in Western Mass. 5. She says the organization was built to open living-wage opportunities and build a stronger pipeline of qualified tech employees. 6. The program now serves low- to moderate-income people and people from non-traditional backgrounds who are underrepresented in tech. 7. TechFoundry offers professional development, technical career training, career coaching, internships, and job placement. 8. Canavan says Massachusetts needs to retrain, train, reskill, recruit, or attract 192,000 to 400,000 workers. 9. She links that figure to studies from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mass Inc., and the Mass Taxpayers Foundation. 10. She identifies retirements, fewer children in the K-12 pipeline, and young professionals leaving the state as major pressures. 11. Canavan says some forecasts show as many as 60,000 young professionals projected to move from Massachusetts. 12. She also points to housing costs, cost of living, and fewer international students staying after college. 13. She says TechFoundry students can qualify for Tier 1 and Tier 2 help desk jobs, field technician work, and digital imaging and deployment roles. 14. She lists operating systems, workplace software, troubleshooting, ticketing systems, security, and networking as part of the curriculum. 15. Each student completes a capstone project and can pursue the Google IT Professional Certificate through Coursera work. 16. TechFoundry also offers scholarships for CompTIA certifications and emphasizes work habits, teamwork, and professional development. 17. Canavan describes the teaching style as live, synchronous, and hybrid, with employer partners, guest speakers, mock interviews, and resume reviews. 18. She says the current cohort visited MassMutual’s cyber team, which gave students exposure to cybersecurity jobs on campus. 19. Listeners interested in workforce training, digital equity, and Western Mass employers. 20. Listeners looking for policy debate or narrative drama.

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